That is a problem,to many don't know how,my friend and fishing partner,tried to pull apart his two boxers,and lost a finger in the process. They still have the boxers,and finally re trained them,and themselves.

On March 16 2008, 4:55 AM, bahamutt99 wrote:You know what struck me as so idiotic about the situation? The dog owner patting his dog on the side and saying "c'mon girl, c'mon girl, let him go." All that dog is thinking is, "daddy's petting me and talking nice! I'm doing good!"

You ARE ABSOLUTELY right...I was thinking that...when we have unsuspecting decoys come in to catch our dogs (the decoys who have never done it before)...they'll grimace in pain, and we're over there patting and stroking their sides praising them in Dutch....

It's hard to think in the heat of the moment, and I nearly had an episode like this while Nisha was fighting Dru. Dru had her ear, and as I started to choke Dru, I was pulling her up, and she was holding on tighter...I had the wits about me to also lift Nisha so that I could choke Dru off without having Nisha's ear ripped apart....

robc,
A break stick will work, but it's usually not the best option. If you were unable to get your dog to let go then you were doing something incorrect.

If I can choke out a 300 lb man, you can choke a dog off a bite. I don't think it's a good idea to try and give advice on how to do this here, as there is too much that can get lost in translation without a face to face interaction. And there is a risk of injuring the dog's trachea if done incorrectly.

In your situation though (dog won't let go of an object) the best option is to teach him to out.

Demo Dick

"My first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban PERMANENTLY as soon as I take office...I intend to work with Congress on a national no carry law, 1 gun a month purchase limits, and bans on all semi-automatic guns."-Barack Obama"When in doubt, whip it out."-Nuge

On March 16 2008, 10:35 AM, DemoDick wrote:robc,A break stick will work, but it's usually not the best option. If you were unable to get your dog to let go then you were doing something incorrect.

If I can choke out a 300 lb man, you can choke a dog off a bite. I don't think it's a good idea to try and give advice on how to do this here, as there is too much that can get lost in translation without a face to face interaction. And there is a risk of injuring the dog's trachea if done incorrectly.

In your situation though (dog won't let go of an object) the best option is to teach him to out.

On March 16 2008, 3:35 PM, DemoDick wrote:robc,A break stick will work, but it's usually not the best option. If you were unable to get your dog to let go then you were doing something incorrect.

If I can choke out a 300 lb man, you can choke a dog off a bite. I don't think it's a good idea to try and give advice on how to do this here, as there is too much that can get lost in translation without a face to face interaction. And there is a risk of injuring the dog's trachea if done incorrectly.

In your situation though (dog won't let go of an object) the best option is to teach him to out.

Demo Dick

Yeah you are right not something to be descibed here......I talked to my brother in law who is a proffesional trainer and is going to show me hoe. He said the break stick is the last resort.....choking is best.....rob

On March 16 2008, 10:35 AM, DemoDick wrote:robc,A break stick will work, but it's usually not the best option. If you were unable to get your dog to let go then you were doing something incorrect.

If I can choke out a 300 lb man, you can choke a dog off a bite. I don't think it's a good idea to try and give advice on how to do this here, as there is too much that can get lost in translation without a face to face interaction. And there is a risk of injuring the dog's trachea if done incorrectly.In your situation though (dog won't let go of an object) the best option is to teach him to out.

Demo Dick

In a shelter environment, injury of one dog's trachea (I know this sounds harsh) beats having two dogs torn to shreds.

In the shelter we have also had some success at getting water right into the face of one causing a sufficient break to get a leash on (for those times when they aren't leashed) so we can begin the choke off. I've been known to smack one with a bucket as close to between the eyes as possible as well to get a break long enough to get a leash in.

thankfully, we subscribe to the mantra that prevention is the best way to break up a dog fight, so in the shelter we try very hard to be very careful about who is where, how and when and who is being introduced by who and that all dogs are leashed ... but things do happen, not often..but they do happen.

On March 16 2008, 5:55 AM, bahamutt99 wrote:You know what struck me as so idiotic about the situation? The dog owner patting his dog on the side and saying "c'mon girl, c'mon girl, let him go." All that dog is thinking is, "daddy's petting me and talking nice! I'm doing good!"

That SO would've been me a year ago...

I'd have tried to be "calm" and thereby reinforced the notion that it's alright to hang on tight to the other dog... "positive reinforcement" in the wrong hands/situation can be a dangerous thing.

On March 16 2008, bahamutt99 wrote:You know what struck me as so idiotic about the situation? The dog owner patting his dog on the side and saying "c'mon girl, c'mon girl, let him go." All that dog is thinking is, "daddy's petting me and talking nice! I'm doing good!"

yep. And i really think if the guy had a break stick and knew how to use it, it would not have escalated. Instead of patting his dog, he could of used the break stick and it would of been over. Once the dog let go, he could of picked that dog up. A/C had the other dog already.

On March 16 2008, bahamutt99 wrote:You know what struck me as so idiotic about the situation? The dog owner patting his dog on the side and saying "c'mon girl, c'mon girl, let him go." All that dog is thinking is, "daddy's petting me and talking nice! I'm doing good!"

yep. And i really think if the guy had a break stick and knew how to use it, it would not have escalated. Instead of patting his dog, he could of used the break stick and it would of been over. Once the dog let go, he could of picked that dog up. A/C had the other dog already.

One of the main points of this thread is that a break stick is not the best way to separate to dogs. Neither man had one, but both had the means to choke the dogs off.

Demo Dick

"My first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban PERMANENTLY as soon as I take office...I intend to work with Congress on a national no carry law, 1 gun a month purchase limits, and bans on all semi-automatic guns."-Barack Obama"When in doubt, whip it out."-Nuge

On March 16 2008, bahamutt99 wrote:You know what struck me as so idiotic about the situation? The dog owner patting his dog on the side and saying "c'mon girl, c'mon girl, let him go." All that dog is thinking is, "daddy's petting me and talking nice! I'm doing good!"

yep. And i really think if the guy had a break stick and knew how to use it, it would not have escalated. Instead of patting his dog, he could of used the break stick and it would of been over. Once the dog let go, he could of picked that dog up. A/C had the other dog already.

One of the main points of this thread is that a break stick is not the best way to separate to dogs. Neither man had one, but both had the means to choke the dogs off.

Demo Dick

I respectfully disagree in this particular situation. The one guy had the perfect opportunity to use one and if he did, that fight would of been over quickly. The A/C guy already had one of the dogs. The other dog, the one the guy was patting on the back and saying: good girl.....if he would of used a break stick on that dog, it would of worked fine. In this situation, neither one had a break stick, so yes, your suggestion would of been good. I'm just saying IF they had a break stick.

I respectfully disagree in this particular situation. The one guy had the perfect opportunity to use one and if he did, that fight would of been over quickly.

That would depend on one of them carrying an obscure piece of equipment that in many places is presumptive evidence of dog fighting. It is a very bad idea to try to separate dogs that you don't know with a break stick, unless you don't mind one or both dogs letting go and biting you in the hand. Break sticks were originally used by experienced "pro" handlers in the pit on dogs that were of known temperament and behavior and thus very, very unlikely to let go and regrip a hand or arm. I don't want my hands anywhere near a dogs mouth in a fight if I can avoid it. Besides, as I said before, BOTH men had the means to choke the dogs off. The ACO had a snare pole and the other guy had a leash. All they lacked was the know-how.

The A/C guy already had one of the dogs. The other dog, the one the guy was patting on the back and saying: good girl.....if he would of used a break stick on that dog, it would of worked fine.

Possibly. It's also possible that he could have gotten bitten. I already addressed this earlier in the thread, but I'll reiterate. Break sticks developed specifically to separate dogs in the pit. It is the only way to get them apart without reducing drive or wearing the dogs out. If you choke a dog out in the pit then you reduce his chances of winning the match. The break stick was developed for a very specific situation that is now illegal. It's outdated and there are much better ways of separating dogs.

Done correctly, choking a dog off will work 100% of the time with minimal risk to dogs and people. It's also more convenient as it can be done with a collar, leash, belt, piece of clothesline, etc.

Demo Dick

"My first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban PERMANENTLY as soon as I take office...I intend to work with Congress on a national no carry law, 1 gun a month purchase limits, and bans on all semi-automatic guns."-Barack Obama"When in doubt, whip it out."-Nuge

I respectfully disagree in this particular situation. The one guy had the perfect opportunity to use one and if he did, that fight would of been over quickly.

That would depend on one of them carrying an obscure piece of equipment that in many places is presumptive evidence of dog fighting. It is a very bad idea to try to separate dogs that you don't know with a break stick, unless you don't mind one or both dogs letting go and biting you in the hand. Break sticks were originally used by experienced "pro" handlers in the pit on dogs that were of known temperament and behavior and thus very, very unlikely to let go and regrip a hand or arm. I don't want my hands anywhere near a dogs mouth in a fight if I can avoid it. Besides, as I said before, BOTH men had the means to choke the dogs off. The ACO had a snare pole and the other guy had a leash. All they lacked was the know-how.

The A/C guy already had one of the dogs. The other dog, the one the guy was patting on the back and saying: good girl.....if he would of used a break stick on that dog, it would of worked fine.

Possibly. It's also possible that he could have gotten bitten. I already addressed this earlier in the thread, but I'll reiterate. Break sticks developed specifically to separate dogs in the pit. It is the only way to get them apart without reducing drive or wearing the dogs out. If you choke a dog out in the pit then you reduce his chances of winning the match. The break stick was developed for a very specific situation that is now illegal. It's outdated and there are much better ways of separating dogs.

Done correctly, choking a dog off will work 100% of the time with minimal risk to dogs and people. It's also more convenient as it can be done with a collar, leash, belt, piece of clothesline, etc.

Demo Dick

This is the information on break sticks that I posted up on my forum. All I'm saying is that i think anyone that owns this breed, should have one and educate themselves in how to use one.

What is a break stick
A break stick is a device made to be inserted in the mouth of a pit bull (behind the molars) to gently pry open and release its grip on an object or another animal. This is a safety item every pit bull owner should possess.

Why Every Responsible Pit Bull Owner needs a Break Stick
Because the pit bull has been bred for their fighting abilities, they can inflict serious injury to other dogs if the fight is not broken up quickly and efficiently. Even the most well-behaved pit bull could potentially fight one day. A break stick can easily help you get the pit bull to release another dog. This, in no way, means the pit bull has "locking jaws". That is a myth. Pit Bulls have the tenacity to hold on, and the break stick gives the owner the ability to get the dog's jaws open. Keep in mind that most dogs fight differently than pit bulls. The pit bull will get a solid grip and then hold and shake. The break stick has been designed to break their grip.

How to use the Break Stick
Insert the break stick behind the molars where the gap is found. Turn the break stick. The turning action should open the dog's jaws enough so you can pull the dog back by the collar.

Secure the dog the stick is being used on. Straddle the dog with your legs. Squeeze them around the lower portion of the body. The back legs are essentially the drive train. Strength come from the rear legs. (shaking / tugging) You want to immobilize the back legs to prevent the dogs from moving/turning to avoid the stick. Grab the subject dog by the scruff of the neck. ( Back of neck) then insert the angled end between the opening in the rear of mouth. ( molars) If the dog has hold of another dog, there will generally be a space. In the instances where an exceptionaly hard biting dog leaves little room for a stick, try to work it in when the dog changes position or holds. Stick should be made of good wood (IE: cocobola), plastic or fiberglass. Not metal, as it may hurt the dog and break teeth. It should be angled like a door stop. ( Hammer handles break) The twist is the key.

Dos and Don'ts of break sticks
Please do not attempt to use a break stick on other breeds of dogs. Other breeds, when in a fight, will usually do alot of snapping and biting instead of getting a solid grip.

Try to practice and get comfortable with the break stick before you actually will need to use it.

Keep in mind the limitations of the break stick and have alternative methods at your disposal.

I'm sorry, Michele, but that info - as well as a break stick -would be useless to me if my dog ever got into a fight.
There would be no "gently inserting" anything into his mouth and it would take both of my hands just to hold on to him by the collar. He tends to do the death shake on his toys, so I can imagine what he would do to another dog... no way would my hands go anywhere near his mouth. He weights about 70 pounds and is pretty damned agile... and fast... as well as VERY strong. He can, and has, knocked me off my feet on a good day while playing ball on a long lead.
I've also seen him "in action" in a fight once (he was a puppy and leashed, the other two dogs weren't)... and there is no way I would want to be right in the middle of that snarling, snapping, wriggling situation...

On March 16 2008, amazincc wrote:I'm sorry, Michele, but that info - as well as a break stick -would be useless to me if my dog ever got into a fight.There would be no "gently inserting" anything into his mouth and it would take both of my hands just to hold on to him by the collar. He tends to do the death shake on his toys, so I can imagine what he would do to another dog... no way would my hands go anywhere near his mouth. He weights about 70 pounds and is pretty damned agile... and fast... as well as VERY strong. He can, and has, knocked me off my feet on a good day while playing ball on a long lead. I've also seen him "in action" in a fight once (he was a puppy and leashed, the other two dogs weren't)... and there is no way I would want to be right in the middle of that snarling, snapping, wriggling situation...

Have you ever broken up a dog fight that way?

I have never broken up a dog fight, but I know people that have and used a break stick successfully. I'm not saying that a break stick is the only way to break up a fight. I'm saying it's another option. Whatever rocks your boat.

I think for the average dog owner the choking-off option would probably be safer and quicker for all involved???

It wouldn't be a good idea to start fumbling around nervously while one dog has a hold on the other... when Mick was attacked I plucked him right off the street (since he was still small), but not before some bites were exchanged by all the dogs... one of them was in my hand.
I am not criticizing your method... just wanted to know if you had ever tried it personally...